Snakes are remarkable animals, but they have an unearned negative reputation.

Some people have even come to fear these stunning animals, but in reality, snakes
have more reasons to fear us.

Every year, at least 440,000 pythons are slaughtered in Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Vietnamjust to be made into shoes and handbags! The real number is probably
way higher because this number doesnt include the thousands of illegally traded
pythons who are exported annually.

Most are torn from their own homes deep in the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Once they are captured, their heads are often forced down and cut off with a
machete. Others have their heads nailed to a tree and their skins slowly peeled off.
Because of their slow metabolisms, snakes remain conscious and are able to feel
pain and fear even after they have their heads cut off.
If they arent beheaded or nailed to a tree, they are beaten to death. Their jaws are
forced open so that a tube can be jammed down their throats, then their bodies are
pumped full of water to make their skins easier to remove. Ropes are tied tightly
around their necks to prevent any fluid from escaping their bodies.
Bloated, suffering, and dying slowly, they can be left hanging for more than 10
minutes.
Their bodies are slit open from end to end to loosen their once strong and protective
skin.
Once the skin is limp, it is ripped from the snakes bodies. The snakes skins are no
longer their own and are now the prized possessions of their captors. The skins are
shipped off to tanneries to be treated with chemicals and sold to the fashion industry.
Many snakes are still alive as they are tossed into a pile of other snakes and left to
die slowly. They often suffer for several days before dying from dehydration.

Snakes are not the only animals who suffer for fashion. Millions of lizards, alligators,
crocodiles, and other reptiles are violently killed every year so that their skins can be
torn from their bodies to make wallets, belts, boots, and handbags. Reptiles may be
cold-blooded, but wearing their skins is cold-hearted.

Now that you know, share this post to spread the word!

CLEANING AND CARE OF SNAKE LEATHER

Snakeskin is exotic leathers and is not widespread. Due to the particularity of the leather surface,
note the following: Snakeskin is usually very stable leather, but the scales are sensitive. Damage
should be avoided because snakeskin in most cases cannot be repaired. Often, the friction
against the grain make the scales stand-up over time and this cannot be reversed. We
recommend taking extreme care during cleaning and application of care products to avoid friction
against the grain.

CLEANING AND CARE

Wipe stains with a slightly damp cloth. Not too wet! Also, do not work too wet with leather
cleaners.

To protect and care the leather, we recommend COLOURLOCK Elephant Leather Preserver. It
is a synthetic fat that gently nourishes and protects the leather from drying. Synthetic fats prevent
mold and mildew growth and also waterproofs the leather. Therefore, synthetic greases are
suitable preservatives for durable leather articles

Wipe some Leather Preserver into a soft cloth and care the leather in direction of the scales. Not
against the grain! This facilitates the work and protects the surface.

Important! Maintain regularly and apply the product sparingly! Due to the roughness of the
surface too much applied fat can make the surface sticky. Treat the leather two to four times a
year and remember to use the Leather Preserve sparingly. If the leather is used often, we
recommend more treatments with minimal use of product per year as opposed to one treatment
per year and high application of the preserve.

In porous and / or rough surfaces or in very old and dry leathers we recommend to care
with COLOURLOCK Aniline Protector. The advantage of the Aniline Protector is that it is a re-
oiling spray and is therefore evenly applied without mechanical stress on the surface. Important!
Maintain regularly and apply the product sparingly and do not overdose!

Snakeskin is beautiful and exotic leather, but not suitable for bad weather. Therefore, avoid using
in rainy days or snowy conditions. If this risk cannot be avoided, we also recommend protecting
with COLOURLOCK Waterproofing for Leather & Textiles. Nevertheless, the leather remains
sensitive to moisture. Water repellents are only an improvement, but not a full protection against
moisture.

Important for any cleaning and maintenance: Always test before in a hidden area!
Python leather bag.
Cobra leather bag.
Snake scales lift with the time.
 The question
How cruel is snakeskin?

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Patrick Barkham

@patrick_barkham

Wednesday 3 October 2007 10.10 BST

Exotic skins have crawled back on to catwalks and snakeskin "it" bags are
achingly fashionable: Kylie Minogue heaves around a python-skin Zagliani
holdall and Eva Longoria brandishes a Prada python-skin bag.

The EU, led by Italy, is the world's biggest importer of reptile skins, buying
100m (69m) worth in 2005. Fashion houses claim they use "farmed"
skins and work within the international convention that restricts trade in
endangered animals.

Several US crocodile ranches try to kill their animals humanely according to

Clifford Warwick, a consultant biologist who has studied the reptile trade
for 30 years, but there are no proper snake farms: snakes take too long to
mature and are too expensive to rear in captivity.

Guardian Today: the headlines, the

analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
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More than 350,000 skins and leather products of the reticulated python
species alone were legally imported into the EU in 2005; conservationists
estimate the illegal trade is just as big.

"I'd love someone to show me the farms that are raising so many adult
snakes a year," says Warwick. Instead, pythons are hunted in Indonesia and
Malaysia, and species are threatened. "We are seeing smaller and smaller
snakes caught and hunters having to travel across wider areas; classic signs
of a species in decline," he says.

There is also spectacular cruelty. Skin shed by snakes is too thin for bags, so
snakes must die for their skins. Larger captured snakes are often first
starved to loosen their skin and then stretched by being forcibly pumped
with water. Snakes are routinely nailed to a tree and skinned alive, their
bodies thrown on to heaps where they can take two days to die.

"There's no such thing as an exotic ethical skin," says Yvonne Taylor of the
animal rights campaign Peta. "You can have the killer-look without the
killing by opting for a fake version."
 Python skin trade worth a billion - and
often illegal
By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent, BBC News

28 November 2012

From the sectionScience & Environment

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Image captionPythons are killed for their skins in

Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam

The global trade in python skins is often illegal and is threatening the survival of some
species, says a new International Trade Centre report.

Researchers say the growing demand for handbags and other fashion items in Europe is fuelling
imports.

But the trade is so poorly regulated that it is extremely difficult to establish the true source of the
skins.

The authors argue that in some locations, the methods used to kill the snakes are extremely cruel.
The snake-skin business is extremely lucrative according to this report, which estimates that half a
million python skins are exported annually from South East Asia in a trade worth $1bn (625m) a
year.
International agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (Cites) that are designed to protect wildlife do allow for some trade in these species.

But the report's authors say that when it comes to pythons the rules are being widely exploited.
Snakes that are bred in captivity are allowed to be sold but the report finds that many so called
captive pythons actually come from the wild.

The nature of the trade is such that there is a strong financial incentive all along the supply chain to
use illegal snakes. A skin that a villager in Indonesia might sell for $30 (19) will end up as a bag in
fashion boutiques in France or Italy selling for $15,000 (9,300). The highest demand is for skins
between three and four metres long.
Sold for parts

The Sunda pangolin (pictured) is the only mammal in the world to be covered in scales.
This unique body armour is highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine. The scales are
sold with the claim that they tackle a long list of ailments, from helping breastfeeding
mothers lactate to curing cancer
Tigers are listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature's Red List, and trade in tiger parts was banned worldwide in 1990s. Poaching
persists though, mainly for their bones for use in traditional Asian medicines. As tigers
are synonymous with power, their bones are believed to promote healing. Tiger pelts
and other body parts, such as teeth, skin and claws, are also used decoratively
According to wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, the international demand for
rhino horns continues to increase. From 2008-2011 gangs were said to have killed
more than 800 rhinos for their horns, which can fetch 22,000 per kilo on the black
market. The horns are falsely believed to cure a wide variety of ailments, including
cancer.
The moral dilemma of eating animals

The problem is compounded by the poor enforcement of existing legislation. Illegal snake skins were
hidden among legal cargoes and quotas were being ignored.
"It is up to the local authorities to enforce the laws," co-author Olivier Caillabet told BBC News. "A lot
of the time they don't have the capacity in terms of money, people or expertise.

"And sometimes they just don't care."

The report argues that killing pythons on the current scale is unsustainable - many of the wild
pythons are killed before their reach the reproductive stage.
Alexander Kasterine, from the International Trade Centre, which launched the study, said the
threat was real.

"The report shows the problems of illegality persist in the trade of python skins and this can
threaten species' survival," he said.

But the authors acknowledge it is a difficult case to make. Snakes don't evoke a great deal of
sympathy.

"Compared to the good-looking cuddly animals, snakes are far down the ladder in terms of how
people feel about them," said Mr Caillabet.

"To try and make the argument that the snake trade is unsustainable, for people here in Asia it's a
difficult sell."

As well as the lack of sustainability, the report highlights cruel practices in the killing of the pythons.
In many places, the preferred method is a sharp strike to the back of the skull. In Indonesia and
Malaysia this method is widely used, as is decapitation.

But in Vietnam, Mr Caillabet said some people killed the snakes by inflating them with air
compressors.

"It is functionally the equivalent of suffocating them, they inflate and suffocate and it kills them." he
said. "It does seem cruel and there are more effective and more humane ways of killing snakes."

Mr Caillabet said that according to Buddhist beliefs, this method was more humane than hitting the
snakes or beheading them.

Keeping track
The authors say that trade bans are not the best solution to deal with the problem.

Image captionIn Vietnam, compressed air is

used to kill the snakes

They argue that a number of approaches are required to both strengthen existing laws and to try and
put in place systems that would permit better tracing of python skins.
While demand for goods made of python has never been higher, the authors of the report say the
European leather and fashion industries are keen to put such a system in place.

"It is incredibly difficult," said Mr Caillabet. "We absolutely need to have a traceability system for the
trade. It is very difficult if not impossible for fashion houses to tell if what they are selling is really
sourced from the wild."

The BBC contacted several luxury goods manufacturers to comment on the report, but none
responded.
Snakes dont exactly have the best reputation, and they definitely dont have that
cute factorbut does that make them any less beautiful? Does that give people the
right to treat them with cruelty? Snake skin is very popular and is proving to be a
style that (sadly) never goes out of fashion. This is a problem where sustainability is
concerned, and also with regard to the industry the fashion trend attracts. The
demand for snake skin is so high that it has resulted in a flourishing illegal trade,
which has, in turn, become the main source of the problem.

In the illegal python skin industry, there are no rules on how an animal is killed. A
popular method for poachers involves filling the snakes body with water in order to
loosen the skin, and then nailing the snake to a tree by its head where the animal is
skinned alive. It takes around two days for the snake to eventually die from
dehydration. This inhumane method of killing snakes cannot be stopped until the
illegal industry is completely eradicated.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was put in

place in 1975 to monitor and help prevent situations such as this, as the treatys aim
is to protect endangered species and keep them from becoming extinct. These
efforts have obviously not been radical enough to protect animals on a large scale,
and high fashion groups such as Gucci are teaming up to introduce a system where
snake skin can be tracked from marsh to market, in order to boycott the illegal
trade. Simply put, if the demand for illegal snake skin decreases, so will the need for
it.

Gucci believes that traceability means transparency and transparency means

credibility. While this may be true, this action will not eradicate the illegal industry
entirely, as smaller companies might be more than willing to accept illegal skin since
it is offered at a lower price. To make a significant difference, there should be a
penalty for the illegal capture, killing, and selling of snakes. This would be even more
effective if it were also illegal to purchase skin that is not CITES certified.
The hugely popular high street store, Topshop, has collaborated with PETA on a
number of occasions to educate the public on the dangers of supporting the exotic
 animal skin fashion industry. For instance, their latest window display on Oxford
Street in London urges customers to keep wildlife out of your wardrobe.
Stores as influential as this are the ones who are going to make the most significant
impact on customers. With these major companies on board, it is only a matter of
time until the demand for exotic skins decreases so much that there is no need for
the illegal industry to continue. It is nice to see the fashion industry developing a
conscience, and hopefully that same compassion will soon be incorporated into their
customers shopping decisions.

The year 2013 is the year of the snake, so lets make this a year to educate people
on the dangers of over-poaching of exotic animals and the inhumane happenings of
the illegal industry.

Niqui is a fourth-year medical student with in an interest in animal welfare. She thinks
that education is the one of the best ways to eradicate the illegal poaching of animals
for their skin, and currently writes on behalf of a London based law firm.

Gucci owner gets teeth into snakeskin

market with python farm
Luxury group Kering says snakes will be raised in the best conditions
before they are turned into shoes, bags and belts

Kering the company behind big brands including Gucci, Saint Laurent
and Alexander McQueen has is to build its own python farm. Photograph:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Sarah Butler

@whatbutlersaw

Wednesday 25 January 2017 14.47 GMTLast modified on Thursday 25

May 2017 09.52 BST

From Balenciagas 845-a-pair high-top black python trainers for men to a

full-length trenchcoat sported by Rihanna, snakeskin or python in
particular is having something of a fashion moment.

Demand for the luxury patterned leather is riding so high that Kering the
company behind big brands including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander
McQueen has built its own python farm.

The Paris-based company has set up a farm in Thailand, complete with

breeding stock, and the snakes will be raised in the best conditions for
animals, farmers and the ecosystem before they are turned into shoes,
bags and belts.

Burberry sales soar from 14 nail

varnish to 28,000 alligator coat
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Kering said it was investing in the farm to provide a sustainable source of

skins. The project comes amid growing pressure from campaigners over the
use of exotic animal skins for fashion.

Animal rights group Peta recently revealed it had bought shares in LVMH,
the fashion house which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy, in an
effort to fight what it sees as animal rights abuses. Peta has previously
taken stakes in Prada and Hermes as part of its campaign against the use of
exotic skins including alligator and crocodile.
Kering said its farm would begin producing adult skins in 2018, with
provision of a significant number expected by 2020.

Commercial farms already exist in south-east Asia and China, but the
system is widely used to launder illegally caught wild pythons to the
extent that most supposedly farmed python skin from Cambodia, Indonesia
and Laos is considered suspect.

In the past, farming of the reticulated python and Burmese python two of
the worlds largest snakes has beenregarded as uneconomic, because the
snakes take about three years to mature and are difficult to care for and
breed in captivity.

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Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability officer for Kering, said: This is a

long-term commitment to developing sustainable and responsible sourcing
of Kerings python skins it takes time to ensure this is done to the highest
standards. The farm, she said, was intended to secure the supply of skins
and show how farming could be done sustainably and humanely.

Kering said it began looking at alternative ways to source precious skins

about three years ago as part of its involvement in the Python Conservation
Partnership, a body which unveiled a $1bn (795m) illegal annual trade in
the snakes skin.

The extent of the trade was highlighted last year when the Chinese
government recovered 68,000 smuggled python skins worth $48m or
about 560 each thought to have come from Vietnam, according to
reports in local state media.

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About 500,000 skins are now imported legally from south-east Asia into
Europe each year, where they are turned into designer accessories. That
total is up 40% on a decade ago, according to a PCP report.
Kering said it did not expect to stop sourcing skins from the wild under the
convention on international trade in endangered species (Cites) scheme.
The legal trade in wild skins, it said, provides jobs for local communities
and can help support the protection of the reptiles in their own habitat.

We dont want to remove precious skins [from our products] but we want
to be sure that skin doesnt destroy the species when they come from the
wild and if it comes from farming that it has the best conditions for
animals, farmers and the ecosystem, said Daveu.

The python farm is part of Kerings efforts to improve its sustainability and
environmental standards. The luxury fashion house is asking all its brands
to use more sustainable raw materials and fabrics such as organic cotton
and merino wool produced on sustainable farms in New Zealand.

All the groups brands, which include Stella McCartney and Balenciaga, are
developing action plans and 10% of their chief executives annual bonus will
be dependent on them meeting sustainability promises.

The company has been piloting a number of other ideas, including using
only ethically-mined gold and heavy-metal-free leather tanning, and is now
aiming to use more of these materials.

SNAKE TANNING
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/how-to-snake-skin-tanning.986336/